Superbowl abortion twattery

[Rum]

From the BBC, though I guess all you Mericans will be well aware of the story. The player in question, Tim Teabow has Bible verse numbers painted on his cheeks. What a fucking idiot.

Plus - is the media taking sides here or is it a case of if you can pay you can have what you like?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8501532.stm


Anti-abortion ad stirs controversy at Super Bowl

Tim Tebow is used to making headlines in the States. As a college football star quarterback with the Florida Gators, he will soon be stepping up into the National Football League. But he is making news right now for his forthcoming appearance in a controversial commercial set to run during Sunday night's televised coverage of Super Bowl XLIV.

A conservative Christian group, Focus on the Family, have paid for a 30-second slot during CBS' coverage of the game. The advert will feature the story of Tim Tebow's mother, Pam.

As a Christian missionary in the Far East 23 years ago, she fell very ill while pregnant and was advised by doctors to have an abortion. She ignored that medical advice and gave birth to a fifth child, her son Tim, the future football star. This is an ad with a not-so-subtle implied message that women who would decide to end a pregnancy should be ashamed

Tim Tebow, who is known to display biblical line references on his playing uniform, has not shied away from the controversy stirred up by the ad: "I know some people won't agree with it but I think they can at least respect that I stand up for what I believe... my mom was a very courageous woman."

Traditionally, the commercials broadcast during the Super Bowl have steered well clear of any polarising issues, tending more to focus on humour and light-hearted whimsy, and so a pro-life "advocacy ad" represents a major change.

Women's rights groups have been calling on CBS to withdraw the ad.

Terry O'Neill, President of the National Organisation for Women (Now), told the BBC she thinks the Tebow ad is totally inappropriate.

"We can celebrate the ability of people like Pam Tebow to make her own healthcare decisions, to make decisions about her family and her future. And we do celebrate that. But we would also celebrate the same situation, a different woman with a risky pregnancy, if she decided to terminate that pregnancy - we would celebrate her ability to make her decision for her healthcare and her future.

"This is an ad with a not-so-subtle implied message that women who would make a different decision, who would decide to end a pregnancy, they should be ashamed," she said.

We're not selling anything - we're celebrating families. It's an opportunity for us to reach a large audience with the many resources we have and that's the heart of what we do as a Christian ministry

CBS insist the script of the commercial has been approved and is "appropriate for air".

A 30-second ad during the Super Bowl this year costs between $2.5m and $2.8m but, for that money, the commercial is expected to reach a watching audience in the US of around 100 million, a third of the country's population.

Dave Kline is one of only four men to have covered all 44 Super Bowls and remembers the early days when the networks struggled to sell advert slots.

He is uneasy about this change of stance on advocacy ads during the big game.

"I'm not sure the time has come but there are people who do think the time has come. If they want to put the 'nearly-sainted' Tim Tebow on air, then there will continue to be an escalation, with more and more of these ads, pro-abortion, anti-abortion and anything else they can think of," Mr Kline said.

'Maximum impact'

While very little detail of what exactly is said in the ad is known, it is understood that the words "abortion" and "pro-life" do not feature.

Gary Schneeberger, a vice-president and spokesman for Focus on the Family has not given any more clues in recent interviews but has noted the anticipation the media interest has built up.

"There has been a lot of speculation about what it is, but we've never said exactly what the ad is about, precisely because we want the impact of the slot to be on Super Bowl Sunday.

"Most of the folks having ads in the Super Bowl are trying to sell you something. We're not trying to sell a car, a soft drink or a web domain name. We're not selling anything - we're celebrating families. It's an opportunity for us to reach a large audience with the many resources we have and that's the heart of what we do as a Christian ministry," Mr Schneeberger said.

The Tebow ad still looks likely to run this Sunday night - the reaction of Americans watching will determine if more of these advocacy ads are let near the huge Super Bowl audience in future.

[JimC]

There is something philosophically bizarre about using the successful life of a person whose mother contemplated abortion, but decided against it, as an argument against abortion in general. Alternative timelines are generated by every moment of decision, none are priviledged in the sense the religious right supposes...

[floppit]

This has backfire written all over it. How long before 'Tim, nice but dim' has an affair, knuckles his mrs and writes off a car while high on coc? So let them winch in the pedestal, pass them a stepladder to clamber him aboard - then wait.....

Too young
Too dumb
Too famous
Too rich

[leo-rcc]

I've seen the advert and to be honest I think it wasn't that bad actually. It doesn't say outright that abortion should be banned (though obviously that is implied), but that one must really consider it carefully before going through a drastic measure like abortion. I can't really fault that message.

What the advert does do and I don't agree with is saying "If you murder this baby then the world misses out on the next <insert great scientist, athlete, or Nobel prize winner here>" which is a stupid argument because you might as well invoke Godwin's law and claim you kill the next Hitler in the womb. There is no guarantee what will become of the baby either way so that point is completely moot.

I am against the wholesale banning of abortion, but I've heard some people talk about abortions like it is something like getting an appendix out. That doesn't sit right with me either. I feel you need to have some very good reasons for an abortion.

[mozg]

What Pam Tebow did wasn't brave or heroic or smart. She took a huge risk and played dice with her life knowing that she could leave her four existing children without a mother by dying of that amoebic infection that she picked up.

The fact that she got lucky and survived to have a healthy baby does not in any way invalidate the stupidity of her decision. Doing something that is reckless and irresponsible shouldn't be praised because the person who did it happened to be lucky enough to live through it. Pam Tebow and her decision to put a fetus above the need of her living, breathing children should not be applauded.

[maiforpeace]

The problem with the ad wasn't the content itself - it was the fact that CBS insisted they don't do advocacy ads, and refused other ads from organizations like PETA and The Church of Christ (supporting gay rights).

For all us pro-choicer's, here's the ad that should have aired.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utcxpuHF ... r_embedded[/youtube]

[Valden]

-snip-

I love it! Thanks for sharing.

[sepermeru]

I feel you need to have some very good reasons for an abortion.

Most women do, but why should they need any reason at all, let alone one that you think is good enough?